Kelowna, Victoria, Abbotsford among Canadian cities with highest number of impaired drivers

Three places in B.C. are among the 10 cities in Canada with the highest number of impaired drivers, according to the latest numbers released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.
Police reported 72,039 impaired driving incidents across the country in 2015.
Kelowna recorded 323 impaired drivers per 100,000 people — second only to St. John’s for the highest ratio in Canada.
Victoria was fourth, with 271 drivers per 100,000, and Abbotsford-Mission ranked eighth with 218 per 100,000.
Vancouver was 16th, with a rate of 164 drivers being caught while under the influence.

B.C. sees lower rates

B.C. was actually among provinces with lower rates of impaired driving.
Ontario recorded 111 impaired driving incidents per 100,000 people, followed by Quebec (184), Manitoba (217), and New Brunswick (238).
B.C. reported a rate of 249, or just more than 11,000 total incidents.
Northwest Territories had the highest rate of 1,211 per 100,000 people, but in actuality equates to only 534 incidents.
Overall, the amount of people getting behind the wheel when they shouldn’t has been steadily decreasing. This latest rate is about 65 per cent lower than what it was in 1986.
Nearly 3,000 of the impaired driving incidents involved drug-impaired driving, including seven causing death and 19 causing bodily harm.

Nearly half of all incidents occurred on weekends, and between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., with peaks between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. from Friday night to Saturday, and Saturday night to Sunday.
With Christmas and New Years fast-approaching, RCMP urge drivers to plan their rides before heading out to holiday parties.
Local Operation Red Nose groups provide rides for those not fit to drive, also driving your car back to your home.
INTERACTIVE: Click here to see how B.C. cities stack up for most impaired driving